Masonry Magazine December 2007 Page. 40
APPRENTICE CONTEST
2ND PLACE-BRICK
Jacob Amos
Local 1 Oregon, West Region
BAC/Todd Buchanan
1ST PLACE-BRICK
BAC/Am Tetro
3RD PLACE-BRICK
Matt Beck (left center)
Local 1 Maryland/Virginia/District of
Columbia, South Region
Steve Powers (above)
Local 9 Michigan, North Central Region
And The
Winners Are ...
BY CORY SEKINE-PETTITE
This past September, the John J. Flynn BAC/IMI National Training Center in Bowie, Md., opened its doors for the first time, ushering in a new era of professional training and development for the nation's construction workforce. Masonry was there to tour the facility during the dedication ceremony and to observe the 2007 Bricklayers International Apprentice Contest-the first competition to be held at the new campus.
The 25-acre site includes a 61,000-square-foot training center and a 46,000-square-foot, three-story conference center. All BAC crafts will be taught at the center, and courses will be offered for all levels of BAC members, from pre-job apprentices to foremen and contractors. The constant for all classes will be safety training.
The conference center has dorm rooms for 108 students, recreation facilities, meeting rooms and a cafeteria. Its current annual capacity is 2,000 students, with approval for an additional 3,000-square-foot dormitory. The center also is the new home of IMI's renowned The 2007 Bricklayers International Masonry Camp summer program, where young architects and apprentice craftworkers experience masonry crafts and collaboration. To learn more about the facility, visit the archives for Masonry online at www.masonrymagazine.com/9-07/training.html.
For the contest, held Sept. 21 and 22, more than 100 apprentices from 23 states and Canada earned their way into the event by winning local union and regional competitions in eight categories: brick, cement, marble, plaster, PCC, stone, terrazzo and tile. "The Apprentice Contest shows how dedicated to their careers these young craftworkers are, and the new Training Center clearly demonstrates our Union's and our contractors' commitment to the future," says BAC President and Apprentice Contest featured more than 100 apprentices from the United States and Canada who competed in eight categories.
38 Masonry
December 2007 www.masoncontractors.org
The Voice of the Masonry Industry
BAC/Am Tetro